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Jan 14, 4:18pm
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Pictures in the following segment are "borrowed" from a pdf file at stromstad.se [stromstad.se]
Walking around where I spent my childhood takes my mind on an unpredictable path.
The road didn't end here, back then, it would keep going, marked by three lines, the outer ones from cartwheels, the middle one a bit more bumpy from the horse that pulled the cart with heaps of horse manure every fifty feet, or so.
 It used to look like this, only the mid "lane" is missing, no more horses there.
Speaking of horse manure. There was this couple. He was a farmer, I'd say he was a bit crazy.
He had managed to find this precious, timid woman somehow and marry her. She had been pretty well off, she owned some land where she used to live, her husband took care of that money and invested in crazy projects that soon depleted her fortune.
As long as I can remember she would come to the grocery store in the same trench coat, summer or winter, probably the only coat she ever had. She had the saddest look on her face and spoke in a very soft voice.
She suffered from a heart condition. When asked about his wife and how she was doing, her husband would tell and I quote:
"As soon as I get her out to dig out the manure heap, she recovers in an amazing way".
He, on the other hand, would tell anybody who cared to listen how he had spent the previous night counting blood clots passing through his legs. He also kept notes of strangers, probably spies, passing by his property in the night.
Their house - it's still there - stood close to a pretty steep hill, facing north and with the sun standing low in the sky most of the year, their home was in more or less constant shade, making the whole situation even more deplorable.
They never had any kids, but they had two foster children, the older somewhat retarded.
He had some dysfunction or whatchummacallit, once he started laughing he wouldn't stop and we merciless kids would, of course, push the buttons to make this happen.
He fell in love with a girl, Esther was her name. He would chase her around the school yard. When we asked him why, he told us that he wanted to kiss "Goldie Rose" as he called her - freely translated from Swedish.
The younger of the couple's foster kids died from an aneurism at the age of 11.
That, besides being a tragedy for the family, was my first encounter with death. Until then it had been an abstract matter, a thing that might or might not hit the old people.
A ditch like this one sent me to the hospital at the age of 15. We used to take a shortcut over a field on our trips to court the few girls who lived where I grew up.
It was a pretty wide ditch and in order to jump over it you had to build up some speed.
So I did a night in November. What I didn't know was that the farmer who owned the property had put up a barbed wire fence along the ditch to keep the cattle from escaping.
I ended up hanging upside down with two barbs embedded in my thigh and a crushed elbow.
But you heal fast at that age, the doctors did a nice job putting the pieces together and it didn't take that long to recover. My wife teases me relentlessly about that very pointed elbow, almost like Pop-Eye's, it does look funny, not quite as it is supposed to be, but it works.
I tried to take advantage of my "medical condition" in school, we had a test, that I hadn't prepared for and claimed, that I couldn't write with my arm in a cast. The teacher didn't buy it and went to his room and came back with a typewriter..
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Jan 14, 4:18pm
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The morning light in October is almost surreal.
October was our harvest time, that is, that's when we would sneak into people's yards to steal fruit, especially plums. However, the fruit was secondary to the excitement, ah yes, especially when we were detected and had to run.
It was also in October 1957 I witnessed the Sputnik. It was awesome. Everybody spoke about it, everybody would be standing in the twilight and look to the skies for this marvel.
Take a few steps away from the road into the woods.
 Miniature wetlands. No alligators. Or Water Moccasins. Especially not in October. There are Vipers, but their bite, although venomous, is not lethal. And it's way too cold for them to be out, anyway.
Deer have become something of a plague. There used to be a few hunters back in my days, they wouldn't let a deer slip away and I can't remember ever seeing one, while I lived there. Now they are unafraid and like to graze in flower beds, eating tulip bulbs etc.
The soil layer is shallow at many places and most hills consist of bedrock. Nice places in the low forest to sit down and contemplate over a cup of coffee. No risk of being chased off the property, you can go freely wherever you like, except into peoples' yards, of course.
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Jan 14, 3:57pm
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Slumbering, dreaming of younger days.
It's hard to keep up with the Tennessee winter. Yesterday was like a spring day, you just had to stay outside and take in the blue skies and the warm sun. I couldn't use the car, otherwise I would have spent the day driving around with my camera. I had all intentions to do so today, but the skies have been lead gray. So the theme of today became kind of gloomy, too.
Even the proud, huge flag on top of Clark Tower seems less colorful in gray weather. The top section of that high rise reminds me of the twin towers in an uncanny way, whenever I see it. Something about the Gothic arch forms.
That would have been a nice ride yesterday!
A family moving out. There are For Sale signs wherever you drive in the city, more now than there used to be. It is that way in our neighborhood, too. Fortunately, the houses get new owners fairly quickly, mostly younger families. A generation shift is going on. I only know of one family living here, who actually were the first owners. It's nice to hear children playing in the street again, a sign of vitality.
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Jan 9, 11:07am
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Happier back then? I'm not sure.
1927
But it sure looks more simple. Rowing to church on Sunday. The caps signified the boys' status. They had graduated from Junior High School, a privilege for those who could afford it. ( The art of rowing a boat was apparently not taught there, it looks a bit backward..)
1934 (Sweden)
After Senior High School graduation you would be wearing this white cap.
1951
A major change in the school system at the end of the fifties opened up the path to higher education for more than a select few.
I was among the first to receive free admission to junior high school, although I had to pay for my books the first year. Rather, my parents had to pay.
The next decade was good, education still held a high standard. Private schools existed, - oh, yes, they still exist - but were looked upon with more amusement than envy, that's where the upper class kids, who couldn't make it in public school went.
Ambitions to provide equal opportunities went perhaps a bit too far, but at a whole, whoever wanted and needed higher education could get it.
And the chasm between rich and poor became a bit less wide and a bit less deep.
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Jan 7, 1:21pm
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My instincts tell me this is what it's supposed to look like right now.
However, at 68 degrees F this is what I saw while we were out today
We drove along Quince / Rhodes for a change, in the southern part of the inner city. Houses here are of a more modest kind and, I hate to admit it, this part of town doesn't feel all that safe. No shame on the people who live here and keep their homes in perfect shape like these, it is not their fault, but abandoned homes become a haven for drug traffic with all the misery that brings to the neighborhood.
So it is with a certain amount of relief you turn north under the railway overpass on to Southern Ave.
Not quite out of the woods yet.
Another right turn brings us to Cooper, which crosses Central Ave, Union Ave and ends at Poplar Ave.
Cooper Street is in the middle of an area where many many artists live and work.
Just look at this railway overpass for example.
Finally, a promise of spring around the corner from this magnolia tree.
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Jan 6, 7:55pm
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Jan 5, 8:36pm
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Another photo from Highway 72 / Poplar Ave.
Same street
 
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